university case studies

Some of the world's most notable colleges and universities are using Zipcar.

"We don't expect our students to live in a bubble. We want them to experience the culture and the opportunities in and around Los Angeles."

1,600

Students

7

Zipcars

The college

Pomona College, 35 miles outside of LA, has built a thriving internship program. Though Pomona strongly encourages the use of public transportation and discourages cars on campus, schedules and distance make it difficult for students to fulfill internship commitments.

Zipcar

How did Zipcar find its way to Pomona? "Actually, it started as a student initiative. The students came to us and asked us to look into car sharing." What Pomona discovered was a service that in Dean Felblum's words, "...provided part of a complete solution to enable access and meet our sustainability goals."

The impact

Now with seven Zipcars on campus, studens age eighteen and up can get to their jobs around the area, regardless of time or distance. What's more, according to Dean Felblum, is that "having Zipcar also facilitates access to many off-campus activities for students and staff, whether they're volunteering, taking in a performance, or visiting a museum."

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, MI

"We're working to reduce the growing need for parking by promoting transportation options."

43,600

Students

39

Zipcars

The college

With a campus that spans 2,800 acres—and 9,700 students living in residence halls—it's safe to say that the University of Michigan has a huge demand for mobility. "We operate 22,000 parking spaces, run bus services that provide 6 million passenger trips a year, and maintain a fleet of around 1,000 vehicles. We're working to reduce the growing need for parking by promoting transportation options," says Dave Miller, Executive Director of Parking and Transportation.

Zipcar

Managing Zipcar takes no time at all. "It just runs," Miller says. He adds, "Our main activity is marketing the program. And we've had good support from Zipcar promoting it." Overall, he sums up the program in three words: "Easy. Convenient. Cost-effective."

The impact

"We park Zipcars near the residence halls on Central Campus where there is absolutely no parking for students. The students love it," says Miller. And he loves the fact that every Zipcar takes about 13 privately owned cars off the road. "It breaks down to convincing students and staff that they don't need to bring a car to campus," he adds. That can go a long way to reducing congestion and parking demands.

Smith College - Northampton, MA

"It was a relief not to add spaces, but to maintain the space we have."

3,000

Students

7

Zipcars

The college

"It's a beautiful campus," says Kristen Cole, Media Relations Director at Smith College, "and easy to navigate on foot. But more and more students were bringing cars to the college. Unfortunately, public transportation didn't seem to have enough of an impact on the number of cars."

Zipcar

"Zipcar made it easy to bring Zipcar to campus," says Cole. That's because Zipcar works with colleges and universities to design a plan that fits their goals. That includes determining the number of cars that lead to a successful program, adding cars as needed, and offering a range of cars from hybrids to CRVs that appeal to a cross-section of members. Overall, Cole says, "Zipcar is convenient. Affordable. Fun."

The impact

"We were at the point where we needed to consider adding more parking," says Cole, "but with a relatively small campus, adding spaces is a substantial project." By offering Zipcar to students, staff, and faculty, everyone has the freedom to travel around the area anytime, day or night. And Smith was able to put its parking plans on hold.

Zipcar also brought other less tangible benefits to the campus. "It's fun to zip around in different cars," says Cole. On a more serious note, she mentioned that because Zipcar includes gas and insurance, it gives virtually everyone on campus an affordable way to travel between the five-college consortium to which Smith belongs.